Page 297 of The Life of Anna-Tenth Anniversary Edition: Act 1

Chapter 139

A few weeks later, Anna walked out of her apartment and frowned as Greg opened his door. It was after Christmas and Greg kept reminding her that they were leaving for Germany on Sunday. Anna had been trying to avoid him like the plague, but he kept finding her.

He leaned against the doorframe, arms crossed and eyebrows raised. He looked more amused than irritated. “Are you packed?”

“I think you know the answer to that.”

“So you’ve been a good girl and bought everything you need, and you’re packed and ready to go?”

“No,” Jenna said, walking up behind Anna. “She wouldn’t let me take her shopping.”

Anna glared at Jenna, then looked coolly at Greg. “I told you I’m not going.”

Jenna had tried to get Anna to go shopping with her on their Mondays off, but Anna had ignored her. She was adamant about her refusal to go to Germany. Travis reluctantly agreed to let her stay with him so Greg couldn’t find her. He was worried about betraying Alex, but he also seemed to understand how Anna felt.

“Why are you being so difficult, Anna?”

Anna jumped at the unexpected voice and looked into Greg’s apartment. Seth stood behind Greg, smiling at her with his hands on his hips.

She stared at him, wanting to launch herself into his arms, but he reminded her of Alex’s leaving even more than Greg did, and the hurt and anger warred inside her mind, leaving her frozen in place. Her jaw trembled and she swallowed hard. Alex didn’t care for her anymore. Why had Seth come back to San Francisco?

Seth pushed past Greg and pulled Anna into his arms. She stiffened and he hugged her even harder. “C’mon, sweetie. Why are you being so stubborn?”

His warm embrace melted away her anger, and her heart began to ache again, both from Ben’s death and Alex’s abandonment. If Alex hadn’t left... if he’d been here, none of the terrible things would have happened. Devin wouldn’t have killed her, Ben would still be alive, and his family wouldn’t be grieving. And her? Maybe she and Alex would have?—

She shook her head. But he did leave. And he didn’t care for her anymore.

“Alex is excited to see you.”

Anna drew her brows together in confusion. “Why?”

Seth smiled. “Because he cares a lot about you and has missed you.”

Her heart leaped in her chest and she felt the tug toward Alex as she searched Seth’s eyes. He’d never lie to her and wasn’t lying now. But... “I’ve been so rude. And disobedient.” She swallowed nervously. “He got angry with me at Christmas.”

Alex had called her during the ballet company’s Christmas party, but she wouldn’t answer the phone. He ended up calling Aaron and had him give her the phone. She’d been ice-cold to him and he had told her to grow up and behave. She’d hung up on him, and then in retrospective terror at her audacity, she’d cowered in a corner for an hour afterward, afraid he would somehow reach across the ocean to punish her.

Seth stroked her cheek. “And he was furious with himself for the rest of the day. As was his dad.” He chuckled. “Anna, he’s been running himself ragged trying to get everything perfect for your arrival. He was exhausted and, frankly, hurt at your hostility.”

“Hurt?” She had a hard time imagining Alex being hurt by anything. Especially by a little girl like herself. But Alex was human, she supposed. He’d been nervous the first time he’d asked her to dinner. And he’d been so kind to her before... before he abandoned her. She squeezed her eyes shut.

But why hadn’t he called her when all the horrible things happened? Why had he been so cold when he came out for the student performance? If he cared about her—as Seth claimed—why hadn’t he come back? Why had he left so Devin could do whatever he wanted to her?

Did any of her questions really matter? Anna bit her lip.

The bottom line was that, regardless of how she felt about him—and how he felt about her—she was Alex’s slave. Even Wilhelm had pointed out that she needed to obey him. She was being disobedient and deserved to be punished. Maybe he would do it quickly and then leave her in the Manor for the rest of her visit. At least she’d be away from Devin for a few weeks.

She sighed, resigning herself to her fate and praying Alex wouldn’t punish her too harshly. “I’m not packed and I don’t have any warm clothes to take.”

Seth cupped her chin. “Tell you what. If you promise not to make poor Greg here drag you kicking and screaming onto the plane, I will find someone to get you what you need.”

“Really?” Her heart lightened. At least Alex couldn’t be angry at her for being unprepared.

“Yes.” He tapped her nose affectionately. “Now go before Jenna has a heart attack.”

Anna looked over to see Jenna watching her anxiously and tapping her foot. “Sorry, Jenna.”

The next afternoon, Anna went home between shows. Her body ached and she wanted to sleep and cry at the same time.

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